Start the Gomez-to-NJ rumors

That ESPN Gomez page has been fixed. But I saw that too, before it was. Weird indeed.

His profile still says "New Jersey Devils" and has the Devils logo in the background.

I don't want him back. When we brought Holik back, it wasn't that big of a deal for me, because I wasn't following the NHL yet when he was still here - he was a Ranger/Thrasher for me from day one. I knew his story, so I wasn't a fan of getting him, but then again, he's a character guy and pretty likeable when he's on your side. Plus, the Rangers were barely an NHL team with him, so he didn't do us much damage at all.

With Gomez, on the other hand, I saw the whole story, followed him playing for us, then signing that humungous contract Rangers fans loved. I saw him and his butt-buddy Avery lead the Rags over us in 2008 and celebrate on our ice (I don't even live in the U.S. and it was still frustrating!). Ever since then, I enjoyed watching his career go downhill and laughing at Rangers fans and the hopes they put in him. I don't hate him as a human being, wouldn't want him hurt or anything, but purely as a hockey figure... seeing him getting buried in the AHL until retirement would make me smile.

I know you want to make the team better, but seriously: 1. the guy is washed up; 2. would you really sign ANYONE to help the team? Would you sign Avery (a few years ago, when it was possible)? There are certain players I wouldn't like to see on the team and Gomez is definitely one of them.

That being said, I can totally see Lou signing him the moment he is bought out. Lou loves his nostalgia.

I'm glad some of you guys aren't running this team. If a guy can help the team, and you have a spot for him, you take him. I don't care if it is Sean Avery. If Avery could help this team, even I would sign him. Avery can't, Gomez possibly could.

We pretty much know Gomez wants to come here. We know it's not going to be about the money, because he has that coming to him anyway. This is about redemption, to repair a reputation and to give his career a final third act.

We know the best years of his career were here, not too long ago - with Patrik on his wing. We know he, despite his father's opinion and youth-rebel-thing, thought he could thrive without the structure the Devils bring to their team as an organization (and which the sh!t storms in NYR at the time and Montreal did not have). I think he has learned this the last few years.

Get Patrik on his wing, Lou watching upstairs and Stevens watching from the bench, and I think we see a rebirth of Scott Gomez. Hell, give him Kovalchuk to pass to on the power play...and I think we see something special.

But I'm optimistic. It beats throwing Bobby Butler, Darche or Barch out there.

I'm glad some of you guys aren't running this team. If a guy can help the team, and you have a spot for him, you take him. I don't care if it is Sean Avery. If Avery could help this team, even I would sign him. Avery can't, Gomez possibly could.

We pretty much know Gomez wants to come here. We know it's not going to be about the money, because he has that coming to him anyway. This is about redemption, to repair a reputation and to give his career a final third act.

We know the best years of his career were here, not too long ago - with Patrik on his wing. We know he, despite his father's opinion and youth-rebel-thing, thought he could thrive without the structure the Devils bring to their team as an organization (and which the sh!t storms in NYR at the time and Montreal did not have). I think he has learned this the last few years.

Get Patrik on his wing, Lou watching upstairs and Stevens watching from the bench, and I think we see a rebirth of Scott Gomez. Hell, give him Kovalchuk to pass to on the power play...and I think we see something special.

But I'm optimistic. It beats throwing Bobby Butler, Darche or Barch out there.

His profile still says "New Jersey Devils" and has the Devils logo in the background.

I don't want him back. When we brought Holik back, it wasn't that big of a deal for me, because I wasn't following the NHL yet when he was still here - he was a Ranger/Thrasher for me from day one. I knew his story, so I wasn't a fan of getting him, but then again, he's a character guy and pretty likeable when he's on your side. Plus, the Rangers were barely an NHL team with him, so he didn't do us much damage at all.

With Gomez, on the other hand, I saw the whole story, followed him playing for us, then signing that humungous contract Rangers fans loved. I saw him and his butt-buddy Avery lead the Rags over us in 2008 and celebrate on our ice (I don't even live in the U.S. and it was still frustrating!). Ever since then, I enjoyed watching his career go downhill and laughing at Rangers fans and the hopes they put in him. I don't hate him as a human being, wouldn't want him hurt or anything, but purely as a hockey figure... seeing him getting buried in the AHL until retirement would make me smile.

I know you want to make the team better, but seriously: 1. the guy is washed up; 2. would you really sign ANYONE to help the team? Would you sign Avery (a few years ago, when it was possible)? There are certain players I wouldn't like to see on the team and Gomez is definitely one of them.

That being said, I can totally see Lou signing him the moment he is bought out. Lou loves his nostalgia.

I didn't say anywhere I want Gomez back. I'm with you. I know it'd be a low-risk move, and I don't hold any grudges against him for going to the Rangers. I just don't think he has a whole lot left, if anything, and I'd rather not see yet another ex-Devil come back and be a shell of his former self. But I can understand the argument for his coming back...I'm just not in agreement with it.

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976, 17 January 2013 - 09:33 AM.

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THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

He was thrown a ridiculous contract that he couldn't possibly refuse. It's not like he asked out of NJ and signed with NY for less money. I hated the cocksucker for leaving but he fills a hole and he may have something left in his tank.

If we don't sign him, someone else will. And if he produces, we're all going to feel like idiots. He gives us a viable NHL forward, we're not exactly at a premium with those.

So we want a guy back who Pat Burns wanted off the team, nearly had Larry Robinson check into a nut house, possibly fired a puck at Claude Julien, Scott Stevens couldn't stand, routinely disappeared in the playoffs, told us to meet him in Newark and bolted to the Rangers, and has stunk up the ice for at least the last four seasons?

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Keeper of Mike Miller's cracking voiceKeeper of Claude the trumpet guyKeeper of Slapshot the fondlin' mascot

So we want a guy back who Pat Burns wanted off the team, nearly had Larry Robinson check into a nut house, possibly fired a puck at Claude Julien, Scott Stevens couldn't stand, routinely disappeared in the playoffs, told us to meet him in Newark and bolted to the Rangers, and has stunk up the ice for at least the last four seasons?

Well, gee...when you put it that way...

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"A lot o' people don't realize what's really going on. They view life as a bunch o' unconnected incidents 'n things. They don't realize that there's this, like, lattice o' coincidence that lays on top o' everything. Give you an example; show you what I mean: suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness."

So we want a guy back who Pat Burns wanted off the team, nearly had Larry Robinson check into a nut house, possibly fired a puck at Claude Julien, Scott Stevens couldn't stand, routinely disappeared in the playoffs, told us to meet him in Newark and bolted to the Rangers, and has stunk up the ice for at least the last four seasons?

You're neglecting that in all likelihood, he's coming back with a chip on his shoulder. He couldn't act like that if he absolutely had to right now. This is his rock bottom. A motivated Gomez with the proper guidance could be a valuable asset

So we want a guy back who Pat Burns wanted off the team, nearly had Larry Robinson check into a nut house, possibly fired a puck at Claude Julien, Scott Stevens couldn't stand, routinely disappeared in the playoffs, told us to meet him in Newark and bolted to the Rangers, and has stunk up the ice for at least the last four seasons?

No one ever mentioned Gomez being the one to shoot a puck at Julien, and when could Stevens not stand him?

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Official NJDevs.com Keeper of Gory Corey Schwab, Mike Peluso, Troy Crowder, Jeff Frazee, and Rich Shulmistra."The Devils are that zombie that takes an ax to the skull, a bullet to the temple and is set on fire … and yet keeps lumbering along to the annoyance of all the other zombies." - Puck Daddy

So we want a guy back who Pat Burns wanted off the team, nearly had Larry Robinson check into a nut house, possibly fired a puck at Claude Julien, Scott Stevens couldn't stand, routinely disappeared in the playoffs, told us to meet him in Newark and bolted to the Rangers, and has stunk up the ice for at least the last four seasons?

Don't forget that he also gave Elias hepatitis, took naked pictures of Gretzky's daughter, convinced Scott Niedermayer to leave NJ, and forced Lou to sign Ken Klee.

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Hedberg: "...You never know what you’re going to get. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. That’s all I can say. I know this is a very, very good place to be. I’ve been to a few places and I can say this is a very good one.

I didn't say you wanted him, I only replied to the part of your post about ESPN. Nice to hear, though.

I'm glad some of you guys aren't running this team. If a guy can help the team, and you have a spot for him, you take him. I don't care if it is Sean Avery. If Avery could help this team, even I would sign him. Avery can't, Gomez possibly could.

That's why we're called fans, not GM's. Newsflash: being a fan is not about being rational. Never was. In fact, it's the complete opposite. After all, why would you care about a bunch of jocks chasing a piece of rubber on the ice for millions of dollars?If I was a GM, obviously I would have a different, cold, analitycal look at all this. But I'm a fan. And as a fan, I can't stand Scott Gomez, I have too many bad memories about him. It's funny how we suddenly forget about the rivalry, bad memories and everything. Me, I still don't want to watch him. Go West, please.And if you say you'd sign Avery... Call me a fanatic, a hater, call me whatever you want, but I say there are some things a proud organization should never do and signing Sean Avery after all the crap he pulled against us (and not just against us) tops that list.

And come on, it's Gomez we're talking about. Not Crosby. Not Giroux. Gomez. He's not going to be that big of a help, so why get so horny for him? Ask me if I want Lundqvist on this team and I'll bring you the 7 million to sign him (cool fact, BTW: his contract with the NYR expires the year Marty hangs 'em up). Because, while I dislike him and want him to fail as a Ranger, I'm not blind and I see he's a very good goalie. There I would definitely care more about helping the team than holding a grudge against a rival. But Gomez? Remind me once again, how many goals did he score last year? Move on, let him rot.

Don't forget that he also gave Elias hepatitis, took naked pictures of Gretzky's daughter, convinced Scott Niedermayer to leave NJ, and forced Lou to sign Ken Klee.Yeah, especially this!

Scott Stevens didn't like anyone. Hell when he was coaching and Marty was injured for most of the season, whenever Marty showed up to BS with everyone in Lou's box (complete with cup of coffee that did not have coffee in it), Stevens would move up to the "bartable" area of the box.

I have never seen anyone claim that it was Gomez who shot the puck at Julien. All stories about that had either Madden or Langenbrunner as the culprits.

skeeter: There won't be any playoffs to disappear in if the Devils don't improve at forward.

I remember seeing Madden/Gomez rumored at the time although it was more widely accepted that it was Madden. I thought it was proposterous (the Gomez part) cause he comes off more the passive-agressive type, I can't picture him being the one to shoot the puck at anyone - Madden I definitely could picture doing that.

Edited by NJDevs4978, 17 January 2013 - 04:44 PM.

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"The Devils have high standards, that's the difference. We have a standard to live up to every year, and a couple of teams in our area don't have the standards we do." - Pat Burns

The New Jersey Devils win Stanley Cups everywhere:-NHL record for most road wins in the playoffs - 10-1 in '95 and 10-2 in '00-NHL record for most home wins in the playoffs - 12-1 in '03

Bottomline, He's much better player than everyone in the bottom 6 and he's proven. He's not a goal scorer and never was. He was at the peak of his success one of the top 5 setup men in the league. He has definitely hit rock bottom. I'll give you that, and he may have very well been a cocky punk but that's what happens when kids have success early and they are already a little cocky as it is. Look at Patrick Kane for crying out loud. I've never heard anything about Gomez being arrested. The way I see it is this guy IS coming back. There is absolutely no way Lou can pass up on him with his team looking the way it does at forward. Hell, if I'm buying. I go big, while he's a rock bottom, and lock him up cheap for 3 years, cause even if it doesn't work out you can bury him and cut your losses at no detriment to the team. Right now, both the team and the player need each other.

I would only consider him coming back for the hilarity. under deboer and with his old buddy elias, he would almost certainly produce a 10 goal season at the very least, and probably burn the habs and rags to spite them in GWGs. Guarantee he will be miles better as a Devil and drive the other fans absolutely crazy doing it.

I said it a few years ago, you are looking at a kid who didn't graduate high school (i think that's true, or maybe graduated) but bottom line he's not smart, he wanted to get paid and went to the lime light he can't hack. Coming back would definitely work in his favor but I don't want to risk it, we don't really need him.

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Proud Winner of the 2012 Sergei Brylin Award and 2011 Andy Greene Award, Official keeper of Doc and Chico's random ramblings during play in blowout games